Tar Heels drop into bottom half of FBS teams in USA Today’s re-rank

There’s 134 FBS teams. Where the UNC football team lands, in the latest USA Today re-rank, might surprise you.

We don’t need to tell you how much the North Carolina Tar Heels are underperforming on the gridiron.

Even with a team that includes stars like running back Omarion Hampton, Kaimon Rucker, Alijah Huzzie and Bryson Nesbit, UNC sits a meager 3-4 and winless in the ACC, tied for last with fellow in-state rival NC State.

North Carolina nearly upset Georgia Tech in Kenan Stadium last weekend, but as you might be able to guess, the defense was a massive letdown again. The Tar Heels allowed 70 to James Madison, a 20-point comeback against Duke and lost to a ranked Pitt team, which may have been their only good loss.

There are 134 FBS teams – and UNC is in the bottom half.

In USA Today’s latest re-rank, North Carolina fell 12 spots to 79th out of 134 teams, sandwiched between Northwestern and Maryland.

The Tar Heels weren’t expected to have a great season, as they lost Drake Maye, Devontez Walker and Cedric Gray to the NFL, but they weren’t expected to drop the ball like they are currently. UNC had an easier schedule on paper this year, highlighted by playing three non-Power 5 schools at home, but the ACC is surprisingly a better overall conference.

North Carolina needs three more wins to reach a bowl game, which doesn’t seem very doable at this point. The Tar Heels are off this coming week, then head to Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 26. UNC has a surprisingly winnable game at Florida State, is off again, returns to Kenan on Nov. 16 to play Wake Forest, heads to Boston College on Nov. 23, then ends the year at home against NC State.

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